Characterization of Residential Lighting Consumption in the Enlarged European Union and Policies to Save Energy

Lighting represents a considerable share of the electricity consumption in the residential sector of the enlarged European Union (EU-27). Although most citizens are well aware that lighting is an important part of their electricity consumption, they are still either unaware of the benefits of installing efficient lighting technologies or are reluctant to change their habits. The European Commission has promoted the reduction of lighting consumption through a number of polices and programmes, which together with successful national and utility driven programmes have contributed to a substantial market transformation in some Member States. However, there is still a large cost-effective saving potential of at least 12.8 TWh per year in the EU-27. With more aggressive policies the saving potential could reach 24.1 TWh. These savings can be achieved in a rather short time (e.g. by 2010), due to the fast turnover of lamps. This paper provides updated information on the lighting consumption in the residential sector, the penetration of efficient technologies and estimates of the saving potential if new polices and programmes for the reduction of residential lighting consumption are introduced. In particular the role of promotional campaigns, efficiency standards, building codes, and white certificates are discussed. Last but not least, the paper calls for the collection of more accurate end-use data to assess in a more accurate manner the saving potential in residential lighting.